Lithium ion batteries currently power everything from laptops to electric cars, and Russia and China are gearing up to dominate the industry by launching the world’s largest Li-ion battery plant. Planned for Novosibirsk, Russia, the facility will be a joint venture between Chinese firm Thunder Sky and RUSNANO (a Russian state-run corporation) and it will be able to produce up to 500,000 batteries (of all sizes) per year.

The collaborative facility, named Liotech, will have an area exceeding 40,000 square meters – making it the largest lithium-ion battery factory in the world. It will be able to produce big automotive and bus batteries as well as batteries for smaller gadgets and emergency power supplies.

The Russian and Chinese firms have reportedly signed multiple contacts to supply the batteries to countries around the world, and 500 people are set to get new jobs at the plant. RUSNANO Managing Director Sergey Polikarpov told CleanTechnica: “The new factory is an outstanding example of the local impact of transferring the foreign high technology. It has led to construction of modern production facilities. When plant capacity has been met, more than 500 individuals will be employed. In realizing a program to replace imports, we are creating an entire cluster of new high-tech production for materials and components related to the batteries and also an engineering center which is an excellent synergy”.

Liotech CEO Alexander Erokhin added, “Implementation of public electric transport equipped with our lithium-ion batteries will significantly improve the environment in large cities in Russia. Use of the batteries in combination with alternative sources of energy will promote the development of ‘green technology’ and increase the energy efficiency of the Russian economy. We are already seeing interest in our storage batteries from Russian Railways, the Moscow Metro, electric power networks and power generating companies, businesses in the military industrial complex, the public utilities sector, and telecommunications companies.”